Heatherington attends first pro camp, Howorko retires

A real good summer just keeps getting better for Swift Current Broncos defenceman Dillon Heatherington.

He wraps up his first pro camp today as the Columbus Blue Jackets’ annual development camp comes to an end.Heatherington, drafted 50th overall by Columbus in this year’s NHL Entry Draft, was among 31 prospects scheduled to participate in the camp, which began Tuesday.The camp included three non-contact on-ice sessions but, according to Blue Jackets’ development coach Chris Clark, focused more on strength and conditioning as well as educational sessions covering topics like social media, CPR and finances.Heatherington was also one of 12 defencemen invited June 28 to Team Canada’s summer development camp that will help form the national team roster for the World Junior Hockey Championship.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Heatherington isn’t the only Broncos defenceman getting a look from Hockey Canada.Brycen Martin has been invited to the national under-18 summer camp later this month in Toronto, from which Team Canada will be selected for the annual Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.The 17-year-old finished last season fourth among Broncos defencemen and ninth among all rookie WHL rearguards with 19 points.The Ivan Hlinka tournament is scheduled for Aug. 5-10 in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •The news wasn’t so good for now-former Broncos forward Shea Howorko, who Broncos head coach and general manager Mark Lamb confirmed has retired due to ongoing setbacks in his recovery from a concussion sustained 18 months ago.A second-round pick in the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft, Howorko played 61 games as a rookie in 2010-11 and 30 more the next season.He hit his head on the ice in November 2011 after an accidental collision with a teammate during practice and played six more games before realizing something was seriously wrong after the Broncos’ Dec. 3, 2011 loss to the Vancouver Giants.“The only thing that’s scared me is if it could be permanent, if I could never play hockey again,” he said in a December 2012 interview with the Prairie Post.“That’s my goal, is I want to come back and play. What’s scary is that it could take out my career. I try to keep hope every single day.”